I-Search

=__**Four Tasks of I-Search **__= I-Search is a process that includes four general steps:
 * **Selecting a topic** - exploring interests, discussing ideas, browsing resources
 * **Finding information** - generating questions, exploring resources
 * **Using information** - taking notes, analyzing materials
 * **Developing a final product** - developing communications, sharing experiences

The topic I've selected is the Khan Academy and its potential for use by the SLMS as a collaborative tool with teachers. Khan Academy had roughly 4 million users last month! I think teachers are willing to collaborate in an environment that they feel is sufficiently structured, accepted, and that meets the new Common Core Standards. A SLMS who forges the path to such a collaboration will be revisited for further collaborative efforts. I am curious about teacher acceptance/support of Khan Academy as a resource and student feedback regarding this tool. I'm particularly interested in it's application in the Math department, a department that has historically been outside of the SLMC reach for collaboration. If you've never watched a Khan Academy video, take a look at the one below to get an idea of the format.
 * ==__ **Selecting a topic ** __==

media type="youtube" key="9Ek61w1LxSc" height="315" width="560"

Go to the Khan Academy website if you're intrigued. [] One middle school math teacher who implements Khan Academy in their classroom has some interesting things to say about inclusion of Khan in the classroom and the gaps it has the potential to fulfill. This teacher notes: "Khan Academy has a feature where they will generate practice problems for students to work on and 'work through the material at their own pace'. There are even achievements. You can add a 'coach' - someone who can monitor progress. You move to the next stage by answering 10 questions correctly in a row - it's all based in a mastery philosophy." []
 * ==__ **Finding information ** __==

There is certainly potential for SLMS and math teacher collaboration in this scenario. Accounts can be built and monitored by the collaborative team to track the progress of the students through the material, identifying areas that require bolstering and those that have been mastered.

The Los Altos School District is piloting a program in which they use the Khan Academy as a hybrid-learning model. Teachers can use the data generated through Khan Academy to understand different student instructional needs and group them accordingly for targeted math instruction. []   The SLMS can provide the instuction necessary to access this technology and the SLMC can provide the actual hardware if none is available in the classroom.   According to Ed-Tech in it's Weekly News Roundup (12/17/11) at [] "Khan Academy announced this week that it has [|partnered with the Chinese social network Renren]  to host its video content there."

It looks like information truly wants to be free. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> **.........................Still Finding Information** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm finding that there are other mutimedia tools that are being used with great success in the field of mathematics. From an article in //Education Week//, I found the following information: <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">"For example, online drawing programs that allow students and instructors to draw and manipulate shapes and graphs -- like the Geometer's Sketchpad, made by Emeryville, Calif.-based Key Curriculum Press, or the independently run GeoGebra, which has established dozens of institutes across the globe -- immediately give users a sense of the relationships that govern geometry, algebra, and even calculus." <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">One challenge has been that these other tools cannot be imbedded in an assignment, they are stand alone tools but that doesn't negate their usefulness. It just means that a creative solution needs to be formulated that easily enables students to manipulate and use these tools while working through assignments. Adaptive learning software enables the program to tailor the lesson to the student according to their progress and ability. Some of that software offers the ability to import standardized testing data from the state, a huge boon for many educators. Bringing in tools other than pencil and paper or chalk and chalkboard in the math classroom is hugely important in keeping current with the Common Core Standards and in keeping up with the ways in which the students themselves live their lives. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Quillen, I. (2011). Math Educators See The Right Angles For Digital Tools. //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Education Week //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">, 30(35), S4-S6.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"> In reflection, I think that Khan Academy offers a flexible learning opportunity that makes it attractive if not wholly manipulative or interactive. The video tutorials can be imbedded in assignments, the students can view them from a variety of devices and in a variety of settings, and they can save them on their devices for easy reference. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> 2/2/2012 Anna, The Khan academy is new to me. Can this application be used for subjects other than math? Jody <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">** ..............................."Flipping classrooms" ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> "This "flip model" of instruction has gotten national media attention lately, thanks to its promotion by Khan Academy, the hi-profile nonprofit online tutoring llibrary created by Salman A. Khan, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who was looking for a way to help his young relatives with their homework. The model—in which teachers introduce lectures online for students to access at home and then use class time for group practice and projects normally relegated to homework—is not unique to Khan Academy, however. Advocates of the approach say it allows students to work through meat-and-potatoes background on their own, giving teachers more time to go in depth through discussions, projects and other activities in class.

Critics, though, argue the model is too reliant on online materials and will prove difficult to use in schools without major technology infrastructure." <span style="background-color: #1c7020; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif;">Sparks, S. D. (2011). Schools 'Flip' for Lesson Model Promoted by Khan Academy. (Cover story). //<span style="background-color: #1c7020; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Education Week //<span style="background-color: #1c7020; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif;">, //<span style="background-color: #1c7020; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">31 //<span style="background-color: #1c7020; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif;">(5), 1-14.  <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> The SLMS and the LMC can provide the access points for those students who don't have the ability to get online at home. Since many schools have study hall periods that happen in the LMC anyway, this seems like an effective solution to the access issue. Of course the LMC would need to have online technology or the ability to get it. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">** "The Flipped Class Manifest" ** __ [] __

What I'm wondering is how SLMS fit into a "flipped" classroom environment? Providing access points is a start but eventually that won't be necessary. Collaboration seems to be the key, providing teachers with the reviewed information and multimedia tools they don't have the time or background to professionally assess. Librarians are still the gatekeepers, the gates just look (and act) differently today. Our kids (mine are only 9 & 10 and already masters of Prezi and Google Docs and constructed their own websites) expect to be able to create and publish online. They will contribute and collaborate online, our job as educators is to make sure they are doing it in a socially responsible way. I think Khan Academy models that value really well. We have to ask ourselves how we can use the power of open access and open educational resources to benefit and empower both students and teachers. When <span style="color: #00609a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Salman Khan] <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, founder of <span style="color: #3d55a2; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Khan Academy <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, took part in an ‘ <span style="color: #3d55a2; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Ask Me Anything <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">‘ also known as an AMA on Reddit today, he answered the following question: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We are still trying to fully figure out the implications of what we’re doing. I do think that the traditional MODEL needs to change. I also think that the model we’ve been experimenting with makes the teacher more important, not less. I try my best to make things about intuition and real understanding rather than pattern-matching or memorization. I see us as a tool to liberate class time to focus on more creative activities. In the ideal world, the Khan Academy will progress to the point that you can get a deep understanding of most topics independently and “school” will be a physical place and support network that helps you explore and apply what you know (build robots, start businesses, write a book). []
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where do you see Khan Academy fitting in the context of a person’s complete education? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; display: block; font-size: 150%; text-align: left;">Interesting, I agree that the flipped classroom model makes the educator more rather than less important. I believe the same can be applied to the SLMS as more time is freed up for in-classroom experimentation and hands-on or discussion based learning. The most important thing is to figure out how to imbed yourself in this scenario so that the SLMS becomes an inextricable part of the model. 2/2/2012 The flpped classroom is an interesting concept. THe librarian could be included in the classroom while students are engaged in using this application. THe librarian can help to facilitate the technology and help students explore the posibilities. I am looking forward to reading more of what you post about this topic. Jody

2/5/12
 * =__ Using Information __=

Since I've narrowed this topic to a question some interesting technology solutions have presented themselves. It seems that some educators like the idea of the flipped classroom and having students watch a video for homework of a lecture they would have delivered in class but would prefer that the video actually be of they themselves delivering the lecture. That opens a whole new door to how the SLMS can provide support for online instruction in a flipped scenario. The LMC could house the equipment needed for the teachers to record their lectures and then create and maintain a library of these videos available through the library's website. I'll be exploring the equipment needed for recording a "whiteboard" lecture next. Check out this blog from an IT specialist for a Texas school district regarding Khan Academy, online instruction in the schools, flipped classrooms and making your own videos for out of classroom instruction.

[]

2/7/12

I have to say that I believe the Inquiry model I-Search is working in the way it was meant to. I spent the first 2 weeks of this project just determining what the question was based on active, inquiry-based research.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The goal of the I-Search process is to promote active, inquiry-based research as a way of learning and communicating knowledge" ( <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">[|Joyce & Tallman, 1997] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">; <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">[|Kaszyca & Krueger, 1994] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">).

After a long struggle to understand what I wanted to ask, what was relevant, and what Judy would let me do, I arrived at a question. And I was a lot wiser than when I started exploring the topic.

2/9/12

I've begun researching some different tools available for recording instructional videos. There are so many choices out there with many different levels of difficulty. Recording your own instructional videos could be as simple as using a Flip Camera on a tripod with you in front of a whiteboard. For the purposes of this inquiry project, I'm going to look into the more complicated, or higher-tech solutions. Camtasia is one of the first tools I've looked at, we used it in LIS 506 last semester a little and so I was intrigued by its capabilities. As a really useful screen recording tool, Camtasia could be a valuable asset to a school whose faculty (or students) are interested in producing recorded instruction. The software works with a web cam (not digital video cameras) which works to keep costs down. The down-side of Camtasia is that it would most likely require at least one workshop session in order to make it intuitive to the average user. On the up-side of that, the SLMS could offer workshops for the students and faculty in the LMC. Harnessing this tool would add a great deal of technological capability for students and faculty who want to explore instructional videos, presentations, blogging, and vlogging.

The SLMS could use Camtasia to create instructional videos on the many functions of the LMC and its technology as well.

Check out the overview video at []

2/10/12

The IPEVO Point 2 View USB Document camera is an affordable solution at $69.00. Its slim, light, and comes in its own case for super-portability. It does have its limitations though, while it takes snapshots it doesn't record video. However, you can use third party software like Google Picasa to record video while using this camera. I'm not sure this is the best solution for recording instructional video, despite its low cost. This is probably better suited for live remote viewing or in-class demonstrations.

If the instructor doesn't want to be on-camera while delivering the lesson, ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard app by Easel allows you to use your iPad like a whiteboard and record voice-overs then share them online. You can use photos from your digital library and write over or around them. If instructors already have iPads, this app could be featured by the SLMS in a tech workshop for recording video instruction. I think all video instruction needs to be set up in a digital video library maintained by the SLMS and accessible through the library catalog. I'm not opposed to making the tutorials available on YouTube or other video-sharing sites but I think a digital collection needs to be maintained by the LMC.

2/19/12

I've discovered an even better app for iPad called Explain Everything by MorrisCooke. Explain Everything does everything that ShowMe (mentioned above) does with some fancy extras like the ability to insert a web browser for live annotations. Import photos, PDF, PPT, XLS, RTF, and iPad photo roll and camera for annotations. Additionally, project files can be exported and shared for collaboration, an interesting concept for taking the interactive lecture even further.

In thinking about the maintenance of a digital video library for the school, I realized that hard copies (CDs) should also be made available for use. Hard copies would also be a component of a back-up storage system.

I've also been thinking about the delivery of the video tutorials. Making them available on You Tube EDU [] and on the LMC website in conjunction with creating a CD library for use seems to cover all the bases. The following wikispace for technology in LMCs http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Video+Tools+%26+Sharing led me to an interesting blog by academic librarian Brian Mathews []. In this entry he discusses creating a "video community" by creating a content channel on You Tube where all your school's videos are available. The hosting is free for an unlimited amount of videos but the clips must be under 10 minutes and 100 MB. That is a pretty big restriction but maybe videos could be broken down into segments, the extra work might be worth not having to pay a video hosting site. The quality of the videos would be better from the library website but would also take up quite a bit of space, something to consider.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #898989; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> The final product that has been developed through this inquiry method will be presented as a shared communication via this wiki. I hope to also use the information I researched in my Technology Plan assignment. My final thoughts on the inquiry process and the selected I-Search method as well as what I learned about my topic are available on the page "Final Product".
 * __ Developing a Final Product __